Grading Each 2012 NFL Team: NFC West Edition

Oy. Vey.  This is what I get for timing my 2012 NFL recap series to end after the start of free agency and mocking its importance in my intro.  The NFC West has already been very busy.  So busy in fact that I've had to retool my writing there quite a bit amidst a packed couple of weeks of real life.  Anyway, if there's one sand grain of relevance left to this recap that I'm not even going to publicize, here's my take on the 2012 NFC West that stopped playing football over two months ago for the most part.

Arizona Cardinals, 5 - 11

Overall Grade: D+
To apply the laws of subjective football grades with rigor, it may surprise you to see that I gave Arizona a generous D+ despite their 1 - 11 run to end the season. I actually thought about a C- because the Cardinals' incredible defensive effort has been overlooked due to some of the worst QB play in the league, but the record eventually speaks for itself.

High Points: Long before the Colts or Vikings were on our radar, the Cardinals looked like the surprise team to beat in 2012 with a 4 - 0 start that included big wins against the Seahawks, Eagles and Patriots.  Even though you know how this one ends, Arizona's defense mostly held up its end of the bargain with top five rankings in interceptions, total turnovers and pass defense.

Low Points: It all went downhill from September for the Cardinals, especially when Kevin Kolb suffered an inevitable season-ending injury in Week 6 behind an offensive line showing no improvement from 2011.  The stable of incompetent backup QBs that followed made all of humanity sad to see future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald's talent wasted in agonizing fashion.  On a related note, the Cardinals took part in one of the very worst games of the 2012 season versus the Jets, hilariously captured here.

Homework for 2013: Considering what newly acquired Coach of the Year Bruce Arians was able to do with Indy under similarly daunting circumstances, the Cards may well rebound within reason in what now appears to be the NFL's most competitive division.  Arizona fans shouldn't count chickens yet, however, since this team has serious work to do with the O-Line and quarterback depth.  This year will test Arians' reputation and a passer guru since the Cards' talent there is hardly a subatomic particle of Andrew Luck's chops.

San Francisco 49ers, 11 - 4 - 1

Overall Grade: A
Like the Packers, the 49ers faced monster expectations going into this season to the extent that anything other than a Super Bowl appearance would be a let down.  With another strong defensive performance, balance, talent as far as the eye can see and one of the best mid-season roster changes in the past decade, San Fran went 98% of the distance.  Fans should be very optimistic about what looks to be a dynastic future.

High Points: The 49ers had no problem asserting their NFC dominance from Day One at Lambeau Field.  In addition to big wins against Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees on the road, San Francisco shocked the Foxboro faithful in Week 15 by putting on a 31 - 3 clinic on the red hot Patriots and then squashing a near-impossible comeback from Tom Brady.  Although things didn't exactly end the way the Niners hoped at the Super Bowl, they gave the Ravens all they could handle and have found a lethal quarterback for the long haul in Colin Kaepernick.

Low Points: The low points for this team are few and far between (other than kicker David Akers' uncharacteristically rocky season), but 49ers fans may be getting a little nervous about the similarly stacked rival Seattle Seahawks.  The 'Hawks trounced the 49ers in a Week 16 rout of 42 - 13, and it's clear that the NFC West is no longer a pushover division.  Jeff Fisher's Rams won't be far behind after tying and defeating the Niners this season already.

Homework for 2013: If there's anything that keeps OC Greg Roman up at night other than his questionable goal line play-calling in February, it's that sooner or later the league's great defensive minds (which include the rest of the NFC West) will find a way to limit the impact of the read option.  Luckily for him, Colin Kaepernick is a great pocket passer too, so as long as he keeps the QB's saw sharp and protects him from the scrambling risks a la RG3 and Michael Vick, this team will be disgustingly good for a long time.

St. Louis Rams, 7 - 8 - 1

Overall Grade: B-
After a pitiful 2 - 14 season under Steve Spagnuolo in 2011, the Rams rebounded in a respectable way in 2012 with Jeff Fisher returning to the NFL sidelines.  The team still has some work to do to stay competitive in the West, but 2012 was a great start as far as rebuilding is concerned.

High Points: While the Rams fell just short of 0.500 overall, they had a great year in their newly formidable division, going 4 - 1 - 1and never losing to eventual Super Bowl contender San Francisco.  It wasn't a particularly notable year for either side of the ball, but St. Louis have to be liking the team's upward trend.

Low Points: Counterpoint: the Rams were nonetheless a very nondescript team this year without many standout players or strengths to hang a hat on.  They hovered around the middle of most major statistical categories, and their biggest emerging star was rookie Greg Zuerlein, though to be fair, his 50+yard field goal range is impressive... for a kicker.  Maybe this is more refreshing than I give credit for in a world saturated with LeBron/Manning/Rodgers/Brees megalomania, but it's hard to tell what this team's core strengths are to build on next year.

Homework for 2013: Juice up the offensive firepower.  With Sam Bradford playing game manager and Steven Jackson/Danny Amendola leaving in free agency, this team could definitely use a few more spark plugs in its formations.  This is a situation where the Rams' lack of star power can make the organization pretty potent during the trading period, and I applaud St. Louis' landing Coach Fisher's old TE in Tennessee Jared Cook in particular.

Seattle Seahawkss, 11 - 5

Overall Grade: A
Although the Seahawks under Pete Carroll have always hovered near contention, this 2012 squad came out of nowhere with the surprise rookie of the season and elite defensive effort to become a postseason favorite.  It was an impressive ride from start to finish for this young team with a growing body of experience.

High Points: Personally, I thought that Russell Wilson's rise as a quarterback was one of the most enjoyable parts of the 2012 season, especially since the third round draft pick was nowhere near the Luck-Griffin mania of April through August.  In the beginning, it was Seattle's shutdown defense that did the heavy lifting with wins over the Cowboys, Packers and Patriots.  By the end of 2012, it was Wilson's explosive tandem with Marshawn Lynch that allowed the Seahawks to put up Tecmo points against the Cardinals (48 - 0), Bills (50 - 17) and 49ers (42 - 13).

Low Points: There really isn't much to critique with Seattle's mercurial rise into contention this year, especially in the way they just seemed to get better and better each week.  Having said that, it must have been devastating for fans to watch the Seahawks lose a seeming lock on the NFC Championship with one bad 30-second defensive breakdown in Atlanta.  After going up 28 - 27 with less than a minute left on the clock, the usually-stellar Seattle secondary let Matt Ryan tear them apart in the blink of an eye.

Homework for 2013: Seattle's homework is actually a bit difficult since the expectations for 2013 will be sky-high while the scheduling will get trickier.  Seattle will have to face the Falcons, Texans, 49ers, Colts and Giants on the road and the 49ers, Vikings and Saints at home.  They played well enough to win in any of these circumstances in 2012, but Pete Carroll will have to keep this talented team hungry and focused to peak in the same way next time around.  That's a different kind of psychological ball game than trying to shore up deficits.

Grading Each 2012 NFL Team: NFC South Edition

Since it's a little too early to look forward--and don't let all this free agency and draft talk fool you--let's look back at how all 32 teams did in 2012.  These grades are quite obviously subjective, but I assessed a few things in my mind: 1) Did this team improve, maintain or decline in performance from previous years?; 2) Did this team maximize the talent level on its roster?; and 3) What does the quality of wins and losses say about these guys?

We now continue our series with the NFC South:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7 - 9

Overall Grade: C+
Although not without his critics, Greg Schiano made good progress with a very difficult locker room turnaround situation in Tampa in this year.  The crystal ball is still a bit murky with this team's collective abilities, however, as the Buccaneers followed a 5 - 1 hot streak with a 1 - 5 slide against most of their more competitive components on the schedule.

High Points: Tampa's got talent with some recent acquisitions that are looking good for the long haul.  Rookie RB Doug Martin earned his first-round keep with a great debut performance and WR Vincent Jackson has [mostly] made Josh Freeman seem more capable under center than he's looked in three years.  On the other side of the ball, the Buccaneers made huge strides from one of the worst teams against the run in 2011 to the very best rushing defense in the league with Gerald McCoy stepping up in a big way.

Low Points: Unfortunately for Tampa, that No. 1 rush defense was complemented with the very worst pass defense in the league, and a schedule full of Matt Ryan, Drew Brees and the Mannings was unkind to the Buccaneers.  Greg Schiano's also still sorting through the locker room ghosts that made his predecessor Raheem Morris go from a young-ry team reformer to a mutinied lame duck who ended his short tenure on an 0 - 10 slide.  Given multiple anonymous rumblings from the 2012 roster, it sounds like Schiano could be walking a thin line between discipline and micromanagement with more than a few players.

Homework for 2013: Do lots of trust falls at training camp?  But more importantly, make some upgrades in the secondary to make it serviceable again, be it on the field or on the sidelines.  The loss of Aqib Talib looks bigger in retrospect than the Tampa front offense may want to acknowledge, and far too many teams were able to exploit these holes in 2012.

Atlanta Falcons, 13 - 3

Overall Grade: A
For all of the consistently impressive regular season performances from these Falcons over the past five years, 2012-13 will be remembered as the season that they finally got over that first playoff hump in the Matt Ryan-Mike Smith era.

High Points: Starting out the season with a franchise-best (and season-best) 8 - 0 is pretty darn good.  Even though Michael Turner's production dropped off enough to get voted off the island at the end of the season, Matt Ryan's three-headed receiving monster of Jones, White and Gonzalez more than made up for it on this never-better offense.  No moment captures this better than the Falcons' resurrection from certain playoff death in the divisional round with the Seahawks.  Down by 2 with half a minute to go, Ryan drove his team 50 yards down the field with a timeout to spare to set up the game-winning field goal against a very hot Seattle team.

Low Points: There aren't very many for this Atlanta team, but their near-collapse against the Seahawks and then actual collapse against the 49ers in the playoffs still raise questions about their mettle under pressure in the postseason.  They started out both games with 20+ point leads only to look hapless and panicky for most of the second half.  It's hard to say whether fans are feeling more or less confident going into 2013 since Atlanta's fate seemed tied to chance more than start-to-finish dominance in the postseason.

Homework for 2013: The Falcons appear to be making good progress in retaining their most valuable player, Tony Gonzalez, for one more shot at a ring next season.  With vets John Abraham, Dunta Robinson and Michael Turner being released, however, the Falcons will have some other assignments to take on during the offseason.  RB Jacquizz Rodgers looks ready to take on a starting role, but there are presently bigger holes on the defense that Brent Grimes alone cannot plug.

Carolina Panthers, 7 - 9

Overall Grade: C-
Without question, the Panthers did not live up to expectations this season by starting out 2 - 8.  Cam Newton took a step backward on and off the field as a young player just learning what it's really like to lose.  Even so, the youthful Panthers and Newton fought through their growing pains and now look more poised to crawl up the NFC totem pole next season.

High Points: Credit the Panthers for finding new life after a very disappointing start.  Unlike the downtrodden Chiefs and Jaguars, Carolina picked up the late season pieces and went on a 5 - 1 run to close out 2012.  Defensive ROY Luke Kuechly will only get better and better on his side of the ball, but right now this team clearly rests on the shoulders of Cam Newton.  During the first 10 games, Newton tossed 9 TDs (and 4 rushing TDs) to 10 INTs.  Over the next 6 games, he threw 10 TDs (and 4 more on the ground) to just 2 picks.

Low Points: On the whole, this season was not kind to Carolina, and the team didn't exactly take it all in stride.  Coach Ron Rivera barely slid off the hot seat while GM Marty Hurney did not.  During the season's dark ages, Cam Newton looked about as poised as Kristen Stewart trying to shake off her mom at the mall.  Who could forget this gem of a press conference quote?: "The past couple of games have been the same script, by the same director.  It's kind of getting boring... I'm going to bring in a suggestion box.  And I want your suggestions in that suggestion box, because I sure don't know." We should have known this entertainer and icon would be absolutely bored by the 2012 season given that he bears no personal obligation to lead his team through its struggles.

Homework for 2013: The biggest question mark for the Panthers right now is how to go forward without OC Rob Chudzinski, who recently took a head coaching position with the Cleveland Browns.  If Cam Newton's late season performance (and stellar 2011 rookie year) is any indication, the Panthers found serious momentum on offense under Chud's watch that will be difficult to replicate under just any leadership.  The new front office should make this a top priority now that Carolina has a stable core of talent on the field.

New Orleans Saints, 7 - 9

Overall Grade: C-
Depending on your expectations for the scandal-trodden Saints going into 2012, you were likely either severely disappointed or just watching the inevitable, discombobulated par for the course unfold.  After going 13 - 3 in 2011, New Orleans was never able to string more than three wins together at a time with a revolving door of head coaches and the worst defense in the NFL history under one-and-done DC Steve Spagnuolo.

High Points: Misery loves company.  The one true high point for Saints fans this season had to be stopping the undefeated rival Falcons dead in their tracks in the Superdome in Week 9... and maybe also watching Atlanta's Super Bowl hopes crumble in the NFC Championship before they could print their February plane tickets to New Orleans.

Low Points: Speaking of the Falcons, they did what no other team in over 50 weeks of football was able to in Week 13: prevent Drew Brees from scoring a single touchdown and intercept the increasingly flustered QB 5 times.  That would have taken more of the Saints' sad spotlight in 2012 if it wasn't for the team's beleaguered defense that allowed more yards in a season than any other team in NFL history and ranked 31st or 32nd in every major statistical category.

Homework for 2013: To say the Saints have their work cut out for them is an understatement, but at least they have Sean Payton back to restore order to this organization.  In addition to addressing a big salary cap challenge, the team quite obviously needs to put most of its effort into defensive turnaround.  Although in the minority, I'm actually a fan of NOLA picking up ex-Cowboys DC Rob Ryan to do the job.  His, erm, emotional style and 3 - 4 proclivities should win this roster over fairly easily, especially one with nowhere to go but up.  And looking back on previous first round acquisitions like Sedrick Ellis and Cam Jordan, GM Mickey Loomis would do well to lean on Ryan to help identify young talent needed for this team to rise back into contention.

Grading Each 2012 NFL Team: NFC North Edition

Since it's a little too early to look forward--and don't let all this combine and draft talk fool you--let's look back at how all 32 teams did in 2012.  These grades are quite obviously subjective, but I assessed a few things in my mind: 1) Did this team improve, maintain or decline in performance from previous years?; 2) Did this team maximize the talent level on its roster?; and 3) What does the quality of wins and losses say about these guys?

We now continue our series with the NFC North:

Chicago Bears, 10 - 6

Overall Grade: B
The Bears--and Lovie Smith in particular--really got the short end of the stick as far as 10 - 6 teams go this year.  Even so, it's hard to say which team was the real Chicago in the end: 1) the 7 - 1 half that had an astounding 23 turnovers and 6 TDs on defense; or 2) the 3 - 5 half that looked toothless once its defensive opportunism dwindled and its offense had no answers.  I go with a little Column A and a little Column B.

High Points: This was a historic defensive season for the Bears.  The Chicago collection agency racked up 24 INTs and 20 recovered fumbles over the course of 2012 and also led the league in turnover differential (+20) and defensive scoring (9 TDs).  Jay Cutler also had a decent run BC (before concussion) with 11 TDs to 4 INTs, save one ugly 4 interception outing in Green Bay.

Low Points: The second half of 2012 was rough on the Bears, who plummeted from the 2nd seed in the NFC and #1 in the North to staying home altogether in January.  The defensive fireworks of the first half of the season proved unsustainable and exposed a lack of balance on offense.  Even so, I think the lowest point for the Bears had to be firing Lovie Smith and--Rooney Rule, what?--replacing him with a freaking CFL coach after interviewing everyone else and their mom.  Smith made it clear from the get go he was defensively-minded, and his defense had a banner year.  I think the Chicago front office is going to feel some serious regret next year after scapegoating Smith for a lackluster offense, late season injuries, and a freakish underdog run from the Vikings that pushed the Bears out of contention in Week 17.

Homework for 2013: Determine a new long-term identity.  The Bears are going all in on offense in their coaching corps while their greatest defensive assets are getting up there in age.  That means Coach Trestman is going to have to prepare the organization from top to bottom for changes that will suit the Bears' future strengths without selling out what has made them successful in the past.

Detroit Lions, 4 - 12

Overall Grade: D+
For all the Cinderella stories for other teams this season, the Lions were the riches to rags counterpart.  After an impressive 10 - 6 season and wild card berth in 2011, Detroit fell swiftly back to Earth in 2012.  A 4 - 12 record might merit a lower grade than this in some books, but bear in mind that the 2012 Lions, while certainly disappointing, lost 9 of those 12 games by one possession.  That's gotta hurt, but it's just the other side of a stats anomaly like the Colts, who won 9 of 11 games by one possession.  The game clock is a frenemy.

High Points: There isn't much to write home about with the 2012 Lions, but credit Calvin Johnson for avoiding the [individual] Madden curse and breaking Jerry Rice's long-standing single season record with over 1,960 receiving yards.  There's no question that Megatron did his job when there were so many bumbling mortals around him.

Low Points: The leadership of this team has been in question since Day 1 of the 2012 season after a summer filled with player crimes and misdemeanors.  On the field, the Lions went from meh to worst by starting the year 4 - 4 and then ending on an 0 - 8 slide, though to be fair, 6 of those last 8 games were against playoff teams and 7 out of 8 were against teams that would end up with 10 or more wins.  Yikes.  Few expected the Lions to match their surprising 2011 playoff run, but Detroit fans have to be disappointed with the results of a team whose postseason window may be shrinking more rapidly than they first realized.

Homework for 2013: It may be a long shot under the current coaching regime, but these Lions are in need of a serious cultural turnaround after last summer's thrills and DUIs, more dirty play from a boy named Suh, and Titus Young's recent very public ouster.  Locker room discipline isn't everything, but it might say more than you think about the different levels of composure that we saw in the Lions and Colts in the fourth quarter this year.

Green Bay Packers, 11 - 5

Overall Grade: B+
Oh to live up to impossible expectations.  The Packers nearly did it in the regular season with another excellent performance from Aaron Rodgers and an improved running game.  Plus, we all know they really should have gone 12 - 4 vis a vis Fail Mary that would have given Green Bay a first round bye and home field advantage against the 49ers in the divisional round.  Even so, questions of balance remain, especially on the defense that looked very Division II in January when it mattered most.

High Points: Like the Patriots and Broncos, the Pack had a very respectable regular season with blowout wins against the then-undefeated Texans, almost playoff-worthy Bears, and... okay, the Tennessee Titans, but 55 points is 55 points.  Aaron Rodgers spread the love as well as ever with big performances from Randall Cobb, James Jones and Jordy Nelson.  Even with Donald Driver retiring and contract question marks for Jermichael Finley and Greg Jennings, Rodgers is a proven king-maker.  This squad will be just fine for a while.

Low Points: Find me a soul in Wisconsin who isn't still seething from Fail Mary.  But for the things Green Bay had control over, this team really had trouble with eventual Super Bowl contender San Francisco.  The 49ers dominated the Packers at Lambeau in Week 1 with Alex Smith and then dominated them harder in the divisional round with Colin Kaepernick.  Unless Dom Capers has a Memento-like condition we don't know about, it's hard to fathom how these pros could be so obviously underprepared for the read option, letting Kaepernick and Frank Gore combine for over 320 yards on the ground that day.

Homework for 2013: Like every team in the NFL, the Packers will need to overprepare for the read option--and really any decent running attack--now that more than a few teams will try to take advantage of them for that Candlestick playoff performance.  I think Aaron Rodgers could also use a day or two tripping peyote in the desert to stop getting so whiny about rich people problems like his abridged primetime news magazine interviews.

Minnesota Vikings, 10 - 6

Overall Grade: A+
Second only to the Indianapolis Colts in zero-to-hero status in 2012 (and maybe actually first), the Vikings shocked everyone this season with ingenious coaching adjustments and the rushing performance of a generation from Adrian Peterson.

High Points: Other than AP, the Vikings' performance wasn't always pretty, but Rudy himself would have shed tears at the sight of Minnesota shaking off the divisional bully Packers in Wek 17 at home to win the final NFC playoff spot and put Peterson within 9 of the all-time season rushing yards record.  This was a spectacular individual and collective effort for the team that played to its own strengths arguably better than any other team in the league this year.

Low Points: Poor Joe Webb already looks like he'll be finding a new calling after one of the worst backup QB performances in recent memory in the wild card round.  In a game-time decision, starter Christian Ponder--who carved up the Green Bay secondary the week before--was benched with a bruised arm, leaving the Vikings faithful to watch Webb struggle to reach a 30% completion rate.  There are no guarantees that this dome team would have otherwise thrived at wintry Lambeau, but it was a disappointing end for an otherwise exceptional year of comebacks.

Homework for 2013: Assuming that Adrian Peterson's career year will have been just that and nearly impossible to repeat, Minnesota is going to have to diversify its offensive talent big time next season.  Especially with Percy Harvin on the chopping block, the inconsistent Christian Ponder is going to need to stretch his talent and build some quick chemistry with whatever receiving corps remains.  Leslie Frazier may just have the coaching chops to do it too.

Grading Each 2012 NFL Team: NFC East Edition

Since it's a little too early to look forward--and don't let all this combine and draft talk fool you--let's look back at how all 32 teams did in 2012.  These grades are quite obviously subjective, but I assessed a few things in my mind: 1) Did this team improve, maintain or decline in performance from previous years?; 2) Did this team maximize the talent level on its roster?; and 3) What does the quality of wins and losses say about these guys?

We now continue our series with the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys, 8 - 8

Overall Grade: C+
Just as sure as Jerry Jones' overbearing waddle, the Cowboys were victim to yet another Week 17 collapse after looking generally promising in the late season.  Dallas deserves some credit for keeping their playoff hopes alive much longer than we anticipated at mid-season and for compensating for a vast number of injuries on defense about as well as could be expected.  All of this still wasn't enough to keep Romo out of his own head for that final 60 minutes in December, unfortunately.

High Points: The Cowboys started out the year with a bang, becoming the first team in 9 seasons to defeat the reigning Super Bowl champion Giants on opening night and had tough, late wins against the likes of the Steelers, Bengals and Browns.  Romo also had a nice series down the stretch when he went 17 TDs to just 3 picks over 8 weeks.

Low Points: Dallas' low points always seem to be some of the worst these days.  There was Jason Garrett's botched clock management in Baltimore reminiscent of when he iced his own kicker in 2011.  And there's Romo's very costly 5-INT game against the Bears and 3-INT Week 17 collapse against the Redskins.  And there are the kinds of plays that make you believe the Cowboys are victim to a gypsy curse like Dez Bryant's barely non-TD catch vs. the Giants that cost them their second game with the rival.

Homework for 2013: Convince Jerry Jones to retire through Jedi mind tricks or enhanced interrogation.  Get Tony Romo a life coach and try to find the next Kaepernick in the draft to save the day mid-season.

Philadelphia Eagles, 4 - 12

Overall Grade: F
What goes up must come down, and for Andy Reid's alleged fantasy football roster these past two years, the peak has unfortunately been the preseason hype.  Many were willing to give the Eagles another vote of confidence after they finished 2011 strong, but loss after loss in excruciating, mistake-riddled fashion sunk Philly's ship and Reid's tenure for good this time around.

High Points: Philadelphia started the season to the tune of potential with solid wins against the Giants and Ravens.  There were also some signs of life long after the Eagles' playoff hopes were dashed with noteworthy rookie performances from QB Nick Foles and RB Bryce Brown.

Low Points: So many to choose from here.  The worst to me may have been the Eagles' Monday night game in New Orleans during which the most pitiful defense in the league (and of all time) hammered Michael Vick with 6 sacks and 2 turnovers.  It was brutal to the point that you wondered if Vick would play at all next season, much less the next game.

Homework for 2013: There's a lot of overhauling to do this offseason where the personnel no longer match the system Chip Kelly wants to build. Let's hope Kelly is generating some real organizational adaptability to ensure the roster has the skills and buy-in to try a lot of new things quickly.  He needs to find some common ground with Nick Foles' style of QB play ASAP in this arranged marriage.

New York Giants, 9 - 7

Overall Grade: B-
Oh those Giants.  Just when you think you're on to their hot-and-cold antics and put every ounce of trust in their ability to get the job done with their backs against the wall, they get all Charlie Brown-whiffing-the-football on you.  New York took all of us on a rollercoaster ride that dipped from slow start to playoff certainty to epic collapse.  The bottom line? We'll still be talking about them as Super Bowl contenders next year.

High Points: The Giants trounced three perennial NFC powerhouses with emphatic wins over the 49ers (26 - 3), Packers (38 - 10) and Saints (52 - 27).  In these moments, the Giants looked like the dangerous postseason favorites we've learned to expect with clutch play from Eli Manning, balance in the running game and a defensive turnover machine.  Starting the year off 6 - 2, they appeared to have shaken off the inconsistencies of old and to have the NFC East crown firmly in hand.

Low Points: Becoming the first Super Bowl winner in nearly a decade to lose its opener had to sting for the Giants in Week 1, especially since it ended up being the difference in New York's division crown and playoff hopes.  This turned out to be one of the more devastating late season collapses the Giants have had to endure in the Coughlin era.  As Grantland's Bill Barnwell pointed out, the Giants had nearly an 85% chance of winning the NFC East midway through the season, but they went 3 - 3 against their rivals and endured pitiful 34 - 0 and 33 - 14 losses late in the season to the Falcons and Ravens respectively that left us wondering what happened.

Homework for 2013: Reload on defense.  Justin Tuck isn't getting any younger and Osi Umenyiora's contract was voided in January.  The Giants could be in trouble in that 4 - 3 pass rush soon if they don't take care of business.  With enormous offensive potential across the division from the likes of RG3, Chip Kelly's quick spreads and Romo's flashes of brilliance, New York needs to avoid getting winded and expecting Eli to win every shootout.

Washington Redskins, 10 - 6

Overall Grade: A
In a trio of unlikely worst-to-playoffs teams this year (including the Colts and Vikings), few teams were more inspiring than the 2012 Redskins with an offensive arsenal that included shovel-ready rookies Robert Griffin and Alfred Morris.

High Points: The Redskins started the year out with a bang via RG3's superb debut in New Orleans.  Who could forget that bullet of a TD to Pierre Garcon that let us know Griffin was going to be special from Day One?  Then of course there was Washington's stunning 7 - 0 run to close out the season and steal the division from the veteran Giants and Cowboys.  The rebuilding era has officially come to a close in DC.

Low Points: Without question, watching Robert Griffin go down with a torn ACL/MCL in the Wild Card round was one of the worst moments in sports this year.  Not only did it create a lot of uncertainty for the 'Skins going into 2013, it also brought questions of player safety right back into the forefront of the NFL's reputation.  For those who may have thought I was merely joking about Coach Shanahan having Manson eyes, his awful decision to keep Griffin in that game is Exhibit H that he might actually be a sociopath.

Homework for 2013: Protect Robert Griffin -- not just with better play on the offensive line, but with a retooled play-calling strategy that will limit his rushing snaps.  One needs only to look at Michael Vick's and Carson Palmer's state of affairs these days to know that even the most promising young players can be battered into mediocrity if they lose confidence and/or physical durability during a rocky reentry.